Secured Our First Surf Board - AVP Huntington Beach Champs

Bryan Malloch

We stayed state-side for our first AVP event of the year. Just when we thought the first tournament butterflies and jitters were out of the way with our first FIVB event in March… we were wrong. Both of us were still filled with fluttering butterflies because although we had played in the FIVB events this year it was the AVP tour with a different ball and the first time to see a lot of these teams in 2025.

Luckily, it was only a two-day event and after our 2.5 weeks in Brazil it was so much easier to pack. We had a 4:40 am wakeup call and as I walked out to Kristen’s car, I notice that we are in the same exact shirt. 4:40 am was too early for either of us to care that we would be matching as we made our way across the US, first stop Atlanta. Due to the early alarm and my coffee addiction, I took a walk through the airport during our layover to find my cup of caffeine. As I walking through the terminals, I spotted someone with an AVP backpack and the biggest smile on her face. She was a collegiate player looking for her new school as she was currently in the transfer process, I offered her my best advice: make sure you love where you are regardless of the volleyball.

On our 5-hour flight to Huntington Beach butterflies were setting in for both of us but we were trying to distract ourselves with some Cruz wedding planning. When we landed in sunny CA we were picked up and taken to the Slunks headquarters to do some filming and FINALLY we were able to try THE Troy Field’s cup of coffee. It does in fact live up to the hype. We wrapped up some videos and then we were off to our hotel, Shorebreak, which was a quick 3-5minute walk (pending J-walk) to the courts and we could even see some of the games in our hotel room. We dropped our bags and then went straight into filming Pristine Caffeine, which is our podcast, but livestream edition with fan questions. Then we went straight from our podcast to the courts for our credential, then food! We were literally in bed by 8 pm. Needless to say we needed some extra sleep.

On Saturday, I woke up with a 93-sleep score and was very ready to get these matches started! We had a yummy team breakfast with our agent and social media manager before we started the event as spectators for the men’s side. There was a lot of the line for the AVP league qualification and the tension was high!

The first Heritage AVP event of the year began and I had a slight panic attack to see the scores only go to 15 points, I felt so ill prepared that I didn’t even know the format. After some adjustment, we realized that was a mistake and it was a normal game to 21 points. We were given a wild card for the league this year, but we still wanted to go out there and prove that we could earn a spot too. Up first, a younger pair out of Stanford University, they were very talented and I am excited to see all of the growth that the NCAA beach volleyball programs are bringing to the sport! After our first win we ran back to the Shorebreak hotel, which was luckily only a 2-minute run, to get some food and rinse off the dark sand that peppered our bodies.

After the quick turnaround, we played fellow LSU alum Kylie Deberg and Hailey Harward, a pairing that usually causes some issues for us. It was a 4 pm match and the sand on Huntington beach was dark, dirty, and absorbed the heat from the sun like crazy. You should have seen us in warmup ups, we were trying to get our feet in the shade, we shared Kristen’s sandals (no, they did not fit), and sprinted to shag the balls to get back in the shade of the net’s pole to avoid burning our feet. During that match the sun was really heating up the outside of court (service line) where the sun was just baking the sand but there was no water to be found so we just dug holes when it was our turn to serve. After a very tight 3- set match that could have gone either way with the scores, Kristen ran off right away. I could tell that she was about to fully start cramping. I took a second the gather myself after the match and then had to figure out what to do with Kristen. I thought she went back to the room to cool down in the shower and get some A/C but she was nowhere to be found, our phones were not getting great connection in the hotel and we were playing phone tag. Finally, we were able to connect and she informed me that we might be going to the ER. We were on our way to the ER for some liquids but we quickly turned back around and got some food, she laid down, hydrated ALOT, and was starting to feel more like herself.

On Sunday, I woke up with full sinuses and definitely under the weather. Kristen was sore from the cramping the day before, but it was CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY… therefore all of that goes out the window and we fight through! Our first match of the day was at noon, and people had already begun to build sand castles to stand on to see over the fence. TICKETS WERE SOLD OUT! I love that there is more demand for the sport and yes, it would be amazing to get everyone inside but it was a smaller stadium court and forced people purchase tickets in advance.

We were back to back… on the center court with semis and finals to finish out Championship Sunday. In order to save some time from resting between the semis and the finals matchup, we stayed in the tent and laid on the sand with our feet up on the chairs and watched the other women’s semifinal. We were very grateful that we had a little extra time to chill, rehydrate, and refuel. The other semi-final wrapped up and we were up against Cannon/Kraft for the Huntington Beach finals. In the finals match, the crowd was electric. We were all just playing a fun game of beach volleyball and it was a nice break from the heavy stress of the FIVB tour. We stole the first set, and let the second set slip through our hands, and then in the 3rd we were able to walk away with the coveted Surfboard trophy. After lots and lots of interviews following the match, we were in search of a chocolate chip cookie, our treat that we decided on as motivation to win the tournament. Although we asked on our social media and the interviewers, and some people in the crowd… nothing. We sadly could not find a great chocolate chip cookie with sea salt to satisfy the craving. After our pure devastation we walked back to the hotel and rewatched the match together as we always do and then we shoved our nasty, sweaty, sandy clothes back into the suitcase to fly out on Monday morning.

📸 Bryan Malloch

Kristen and I went our separate ways, after a quick breakfast together, she flew out 2 hours before I did for some wedding duties. Meanwhile, I was able to enjoy the beautiful California beach before my flight home.